Microsoft Enters Cannabuisness

Since cannabis started becoming medically and recreationally legal, the industry has encountered many issues. Banks won’t allow dispensaries to use accounts, security issues, and big business seems to shun those involved in the green rush. Even though medical cannabis has gone a long way, dispensaries are still dealing with trouble from every day institutions. But the Microsoft company has made a big move in favor of cannabis.

Microsoft is welcoming a marijuana compliance company called Kind Financial onto its Azure Government cloud platform. Kind Financial is based out of Los Angeles and provides seed-to-sale tracking solutions. The company, while it has been a commercial client of Microsoft’s Azure cloud since it’s founding in 2014. In the last nine months, Kind CEO David Dinenberg has speaking with Microsoft officials in order to get the company promoted to Azure Government. A separate cloud platform with security and compliance protocols that are geared towards entities that interact with federal agencies.

“Kind agreed that Azure Government is the only cloud platform designed to meet government standards for the closely regulated cannabis compliance programs and we look forward to working together to help our government customers launch successful regulatory programs,”

said Kimberly Nelson, the executive director of Microsoft’s state and local government solutions divisions, released in a statement.

A move like this shows that there is a certain open mindedness at Microsoft… Or at least a desire to get in on the roughly $5.7 billion that cannabis sales made in 2015. “It’s undeniable that Microsoft’s interest in this industry shows we are maturing” says Gladha DeCarcer, CEO of New Frontier, an industry analytics firm. “Not only will the perception of companies in the cannabis space improve externally as a result of this news, but it’ll also mean that everyone from Mom and Pop businesses to sophisticated multinationals will see their opportunities improve.”